Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School can be found in a Flower Avenue bungalow that parents and staff transformed into a vibrant learning environment. The school's interior and exterior spaces reflect and inspire its nature, play, arts curriculum. As children and parents walk through the garden gate, they enter a place that invites exploration, welcomes play, and ignites creative thinking.

Our educational philosophy springs from the belief that innovative, caring educators, teamed with inspired and engaged parents, can build a dynamic learning community that benefits both the adults and children. Our parents receive the guidance necessary to contribute meaningfully in the classroom, in administrative roles central to the school's success, and to support their children throughout their children's education.

Nursery School Programs

For over 75 years, the Cooperative School has carried forth its mission of building a community based on common goals. Here, generations of children, parents, and teachers have taken their first steps in learning together.

Our programs include partial day/partial week programs for children turning 2, 3, and 4 years old. Our class schedules allow each group to use our unique space to its fullest. Our school year programs begin the week of Labor day and end after the first week in June.

We are a school. The primary difference between our school and a typical daycare setting is that our teachers hold degrees in education. We are also a cooperative model school and many of our parents work outside of the home. The school has systems in place to meet the needs of working parents. Parents also arrange additional care in order to provide for their children’s access to this program.

In exchange for their involvement, parents receive classroom experience, parent education, career enrichment opportunities, and much-reduced tuition for high-quality, progressive education for their children. Through this partnership, over decades, parents and educators have built a legacy to protect children’s access to nature, play, and art.

Summer Program

The Cooperative School’s summer program, "Tinkering at the Cooperative School" or "Tink" for short, is open to the community for children ages 5 to 10 and does not require co-oping. Children must be currently enrolled in kindergarten through 5th grade.

Registration opens February 9th 2019 at 9:00am.

Our play-filled summer program is playfully named Tink, short for Tinkering at the Cooperative School. Cooperative play and collaboration are the foundational underpinnings of Tink and the activities center on doing, creating, and building together. The children build dens, learn to whittle and how to use axes, hammers, saws, tie knots, build fires, and read maps -- they learn how to work and play together, using real tools, to build things up and tear things down. This is play! This is childhood!

Five Tink Sessions to choose from:

Session I: June 17 – June 21Session II: June 24 – June 28Session III: July 8 – July 12 Session IV: July 15 – July 19 Session V: July 22 – July 26

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The Cooperative School, a not-for-profit corporation, welcomes families of all races, colors, religions and national and ethnic origins without regard to sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.